Flipkart Wholesale launches digital platform for kiranas, MSMEs

Flipkart

Flipkart Wholesale on September 2 launched a digital platform to connect local manufacturers with retailers, a move aimed at strengthening its online presence that comes a few days after it acquired the wholesale business of parent Walmart. 

To begin with, the platform will be available for fashion retailers, especially footwear and apparel, in Gurugram, Delhi and Bengaluru.

"With the strong capability within the group in B2B, we will focus on meeting the needs of kiranas and MSMEs by providing these small businesses a wide selection at significant value, powered by technology to make their lives easier,” Adarsh Menon, senior vice president and head, Flipkart Wholesale, said.

By year-end, Flipkart Wholesale plans to expand to 20 more cities and in categories such as home and kitchen and grocery. 

The business to business (B2B) platform aims to rope in over 300 strategic partners and have over 2 lakh listings in two months. It will also enable the onboarding of 50 brands and over 250 local manufacturers in the coming days. 

"Whether in grocery, general merchandise or fashion, these businesses will have one-stop access to an extensive selection of products with attractive schemes and incentives, supplemented with data-driven recommendations for stock selection," Menon said.

Flipkart Wholesale customers will also have access to credit facilities to manage cash flow.

Flipkart acquired its parent's cash-and-carry business in India on July 23 to compete with rivals Amazon, Reliance's JioMart and Udaan to lure kiranas. 

India’s online retail space is seeing a furious competition as coronavirus forces more and more people to seek the safety of their homes to shop. 

On August 29, Reliance Retail announced the acquisition of businesses of Kishore Biyani's Future Group for ₹24,713 crore, which will not expand its presence in retail space but also boost its firepower as it goes up against Amazon and Flipkart.

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